Order placed December 27, 2005
Order arrived December 30, 2005
(as expected via FedEx Int'l)
Everything was beautifully packed with four reuseable ice packs. Each cheese wrapped first in waxed paper, foil and then sealed in plastic bags with little plastic labels (suitable for placing on a serving plate). They were perfect – no compression from being packed. I was nervous ordering from France – but really it was perfect transaction. No hassles.
Perfect looking products and very fresh. The cheeseboard cheeses are accompanied by a brochure telling which cheese is which. It does not have the descriptions which are on the website. They ship from Touraine, France.
What we Ordered:
Cheeseboard: Discovery - Five cheeses
1. Bondon à la Fleur de Sel
The cheese was perfect. Chalky in the center. Smooth. Very Fresh.
2. Tommette de Yenne
Wow! A delicious cheese. Read more about it here! It didn’t last long.
3. Cendré du Beauzac (1/2)
The cheese we received was perfect – the cheese is very mild despite it’s blue veins. Not to our taste.
4. Brezouard aux Herbes (cow)
Alsace - Lorraine region of France.
Wow, wow, wow. We shared this one with friends and they loved it too. Buttery but with a stinky element which makes it really interesting. Paired well with the Barolo we were drinking. Read more on it here.
5. Furiani (1/2)
This one again was perfect but it did not excite Jack.
Comté
Really, really great Comté. We’ll be reordering. Jack managed to save enough from his one-sitting devouring session that I got to taste it. The piece was much smaller than we would normally purchase.
Epoisses de Bourgogne
This was excellent, and slightly different from the Époisses we purchase locally that's made by Berthaut.
Total:
132 Euros – about $154 dollars for 7 cheeses including S&H. This works out to roughly $22/cheese including shipping.
Overall Impressions:
The cheeses were very fresh and very perfect. Perhaps if anything a little too perfect for our tastes– if that’s possible. We’re used to eating Epoisses with some age on it. The Cendre and Fumani too were very firm in the center. The slice of Comte was tiny compared to what we usually purchase. It does not seem possible to adjust the amount of cheese received easily. The order is a minimum of 3 cheeses or a cheeseboard.
We were impressed by the quality of what we ordered. It’s on the expensive side and we have great cheese shops nearby so we would likely order only unusual cheeses or ones which should be eaten very fresh. I would definitely order again and recommend them. As we didn’t have need for customer service I can’t report on their handling of a problem.
